As a GLAD Key Trainer, specializing in secondary math and science, I will use the wikispace and the ibookmarks to create a resource for GLAD-trained teachers to create math and science units. During presentations already, I have had multiple requests for such resources -- so, perfect timing!
Reflections on Vision Statements:
Reflection: Shared Vision of Learning
An effective school administrator must be willing and capable of developing, articulating, implementing, and maintaining the integrity of a vision of learning that the school community also holds and supports. The vision must focus on the success of all students.
First of all, the development process of a shared vision is, of course, the first crucial component that requires great consideration and knowledge of the school community, such as available resources, history, demographics, and physical environment. It must be realistic, culturally sensitive, and adaptable to an ever changing world. It must reflect high ideals – for all students. It must reflect the uniqueness of the school. It must require sacrifice and emotional investment from all community members.
Second, once a vision statement is developed, an effective leader must be able to articulate this vision – to communicate the vision clearly and assertively, in such a way that motivates the school community and attains buy-in. the administrator, and key leadership members must be able to speak, write, and, most of all, live the vision before any non-leadership members will ever truly buy into the vision.
Third, an effective leader must be able to implement the vision by acquiring, distributing, refining, and maintaining resources needed --- this includes human and non-human resources, as well as time. Some activities and resources may need to be culled from the community to accomplish implementation. This means that a leader must be assertive and discriminating, and willing to risk criticism.
Finally, an effective leader is able to maintain the integrity of the vision – not allowing political or emotional influences to sway or thwart the progress toward the vision. Again, this requires assertiveness and determination. An effective leader must be able to walk the fine line between compromise and cooperation.
A powerful shared vision is necessary for the success of all students and only a strong, effective leader can facilitate such success.
My Vision Statement:
A perfect school is one in which:
• All school community members believe that all students can measurably succeed and contribute to society.
• Students engage in learning and self-monitoring.
• Teachers collaborate to facilitate and assess student learning.
• All instructional decisions and resource allotments are based upon proven research and data.
• Leaders model professional ethics and balance.
• All members value and embrace life-long learning.
Reflection on Survey Monkey:
As an administrator, I would be able to use this tool to survey my teachers on upcoming issues as a means to more effectively meet the needs of the staff in meetings or staff development. this would be more a more efficient use of time, and would provide a low-affective envoronment for teachers to share opinions or needs.
Reflection on The Courage To Teach:
Parker Palmer asserts that good teaching cannot be reduced to technique, but rather to identity and integrity of the teacher. I am not convinced that these traits can be separated in truly good teaching. I can’t think of any teacher who uses great techniques, but has no integrity or identity, but I can think of teachers who have integrity and identity, but not much technique. First of all, to poll students, or anyone, on who their best teachers were may not be gathering information about teaching quality, but rather about emotional or inspirational qualities. Someone who greatly influences another, doesn’t necessarily teach them as much as inspire them to act or think.Personally, when I think back to which teacher influenced me most, it isn’t the same as the teacher who taught me the most. Quite frankly, I think that someone with integrity and identity could possibly never become a great teacher if they are never taught the most effective teaching strategies; but those teachers without integrity and identity will never become great teachers, because they, by definition, don’t care to.
Optimally, as an instructional leader, the best teacher to hire would one that has it all: integrity, identity, and technique; but if pickings are slim, identity and integrity are the necessities, as long as opportunities to attain the techniques are provided. If, however, the instructional leader hires someone without integrity and identity, regardless of a stellar list of qualifications, they have just hired a dud. As for the issue of mentors, I disagree with the author. I believe we should always have a mentor, no matter how long we have been teaching. It is vital to be a mentor and to be mentored, whether it be for technique, for content, for organization, for counseling, or whatever, there is always a part of us that needs to be further developed, and there is always a part of someone else that we can help to develop. That is really one of the cores of success in effective professional learning communities.
The Culture of Teaching and Learning was the third course in the Tier One Preliminary Administrative Credential Program at the Orange County Department of Education. Standard Two, of the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSELs), states: “A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.” Our facilitators, Anita Jameson and Karen Madeiros, were quite thorough in informing us about the vast number of components of school culture, such as values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, school traditions, role models, etc. A school administrator must be familiar with the existing culture of the school, the “who we are”, as well as the areas of needed improvement, the “who we want to be”. The reason this is so important, is the fact that research indicates that culture is the leading indicator of student academic success, and after all, that is why we are here, to help students succeed. On Day One, we learned about the history of education, and how the major shifts in our society have changed the purpose, the curriculum, and the role of the principal. Since society continues to change, so must we expect schools to continue to change. We learned about the Coleman Report, which introduced us to the “achievement gap”, which unfortunately contributes to a culture low expectations in so many of our schools. I thought of the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy, where educators read about this gap between socio-economic groups, or between racial groups, and then believe that this must be true and lower their expectations of those groups, and perhaps put forth less effort because “oh well, it doesn’t matter….”. Rather, we must reject the idea that certain groups of students can’t succeed, and do what ever it takes to make sure that they do succeed. The fact is, in many schools, this “gap” is nonexistent, due to superior curriculum and teachers within a culture of high expectations. We discussed the need and the process of changing a school’s culture through a continuous improvement planning process put forth by Mike Schmoker. We discussed the results of a study by Carl Glickman with the League of Professional Schools. Glickman produced a list of 5 findings about successful schools. This list is one that I will keep posted in my office, as a reminder of what my school culture needs to model. On Day Two, we learned about instructional strategies, standards, brain research, and differentiation. We learned about how the principal of a school is the instructional leader and must not only be familiar with effective strategies, but must demand these strategies from classroom teachers. We discussed studies of 90/90/90 schools. We discussed and practiced identifying power standards as a solution to the dilemma of too many standards/too little time. I think that this day was probably the easiest part of the culture segment of our program, because most of us are already teachers and “good teaching” is important to us already ---the challenge is, as administrators, how will we lead our staff into a culture of believing that all students can succeed, and that it is an educator’s job and purpose to seek out the best strategies to ensure that they all do. On Day Three, we focused on the various forms and uses of data in education, including demographics, finances, and assessment. An administrator needs to know how to interpret data in order to direct change and improvement in instructional practices and to allocate resources to meet the needs of all constituents within the school community. WE spent considerable time defining, differentiating, and evaluating various types of assessments. Assessment data enables accountability in teaching, as well as identifies effective or non-effective components of our instructional program. We discussed the differences between assessment of and assessment for learning. We also discussed the value of developing common assessment within grade levels or departments, in order too more accurately analyze the effectiveness of instructional practices. Of this component, I was most surprised about my interest in finances. I have a really passion about the wastefulness I see in public schools, and it never really occurred to me that I could get into the financial end of education and perhaps make a difference. I am seriously considering this path. Finally, on Day Four, we addressed the administrator’s role in the professional development of staff. An administrator must not only facilitate on-site professional development activities, but also encourage staff to individually pursue continuous professional growth, to embed it into their work. By facilitating and supporting continuous learning in all of the adults on our campus, we establish a culture of life-long learning, which in turn, assists student learning. In conclusion, culture encompasses many facets, all intricately interrelated, and all essential to student success. An administrator who is new to a school must me adept to quickly and accurately assess the culture of the school, deciding which components are toxic, and which are positive. Then, with tact and wisdom, along with a great deal of tenacity and communication skill, the toxic components must be transformed. Personally, I believe that this is where my greatest strength and potential lies, as I am able to detect undercurrents, relate to many different personalities, and “infect” people with my hunger for knowledge and passion for excellence. Yet, that is not to say it will be easy, and I must always search for better ways to improve my self, and my school’s culture, never settling for mediocre.
School Site Plan Interview My interview was with Debra Thompson, principal of Portola Middle School in Orange Unified School District. Portola MS is located on main Street, north of Chapman, in Orange, CA. PMS is 85% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 2% Caucasian, with 40% ELD, and 65% Free or Reduced Lunch. Ideally, the School Site Plan is supposed to be created by the School Site Council and the Instructional Leadership Team. In reality, Ms. Thompson ends up doing most of it, due to the fact that very few parents attend SSC, and those who do, do not speak or read English, they generally have a low level education, and the entire plan has not been translated into Spanish. In addition, the ILT does not participate much in the formation of the SSP either, as that requires release days, and the ILT has expressed that they prefer to remain in the classroom as much as possible. Before the SSP, the school vision, mission, and goals must be defined. The goals at Portola are somewhat pre-defined, as it is a Program Improvement School under NCLB. There are three main goals, one for math, one for Language Arts, and one for English Language Development. It is these goals that the SSP is designed to achieve. The format of the SSP is dictated by the State. Usually the previous plan is simply revised each year, however, last year, a new online form was introduced, which required that the entire plan be written from scratch. Ms. Thompson stated that, during her first year as principal, there was no support offered by the district for creating this document. During her second year, Portola underwent State Review, which exposed this lack of support for the SSP, and now, the district offers training on SSP development. Input for the SSP comes from staff, via the ILT, from SSC, from classroom observations, evidence of student work, an analysis of the instructional program, and the Academic Program Survey, a survey that rates the school on the 9 Essentials for Successful Schools. Ms. Thompson begins the SSP in the Spring with general goals, but not much detail, because the CST results are not yet out, the school is in the middle of testing, the school year is beginning to close out, and MS. Is planning the next year already. She completes the rough draft by the end of June, in time for her summer break, then resumes writing in late July/early August, once the CST scores are released. Once the goals and the action plan are defined in the SSP, available monies are then allocated according to priority. One of the challenges is distributing categorical funds appropriately – categorical funds cannot be used for anything that is covered by general funds. Examples of items that Portola has funded are staff development, the reading intervention program, AVID, a reading specialist, after school homework club, a community liaison, and a technology assistant. The challenge is the fact that all of the money does not come at once. A tentative budget is formed in spring, and an updated budget is released in October, after the CBEDs are released. REFLECTION What initially struck me most was the lack of participation by parents and even staff in the development of the SSP. It seems to me that it would be worth the effort to get more of the community involved in order to ensure buy-in. There must be a way to have the SSP fully translated, and then perhaps training for parents to understand the SSP. It is an immense load for one person to tackle this project alone, and then to have limited buy-in due to lack of ownership, would be a major source of frustration to me. If I was the principal, this would have to change….. What struck me next is when Ms. Thompson showed me the additional paperwork required, in conjunction with the SSP, for Title I and Program Improvement. Much of it is redundant, and it is highly time-consuming.
What Families Want
What Families Want By Wadsworth and Remaley The article suggests that we don’t really need to refocus efforts to meeting the changing needs of our demographics, and that instead, we should focus on providing strong academic programs, qualified and motivated teachers, and a respectful and nurturing environment. I believe that, in order to provide these things, we must adapt to the changing needs of our demographics. A strong academic program includes strategies and components that are differentiated according to the needs of our students. For example, if our students come from homes that have not afforded travel or exposure to a variety of experiences, our academic program would need special emphasis on developing background knowledge and academic language. If our students come from homes where there is no safe or quiet place to do homework, we would need to provide opportunities for students to complete work at school, or provide more practice time during class. Qualified and motivated teachers observe their students’ needs and adapt their methods to meet those needs. “Qualified” nowadays means trained in cross cultural awareness and ELD strategies – an obvious adaptation to the changing needs of our demographics. A respectful and nurturing environment is made possible by understanding the need the needs of the demographics.Schools in communities with primarily non-English speaking parents must make special efforts to break down the language barrier and make the parents feel welcome and respected in order to get parents involved with school activities. Thus, I feel that the authors’ reasoning is invalid. It’s not either/or, it’s both. A strong academic program, qualified and motivated teachers, and a respectful and nurturing environment will focus efforts on meeting the changing needs of the demographics of the school, in order to ensure the success of their students.
Reflections:
As a GLAD Key Trainer, specializing in secondary math and science, I will use the wikispace and the ibookmarks to create a resource for GLAD-trained teachers to create math and science units. During presentations already, I have had multiple requests for such resources -- so, perfect timing!
Reflections on Vision Statements:
Reflection: Shared Vision of LearningAn effective school administrator must be willing and capable of developing, articulating, implementing, and maintaining the integrity of a vision of learning that the school community also holds and supports. The vision must focus on the success of all students.
First of all, the development process of a shared vision is, of course, the first crucial component that requires great consideration and knowledge of the school community, such as available resources, history, demographics, and physical environment. It must be realistic, culturally sensitive, and adaptable to an ever changing world. It must reflect high ideals – for all students. It must reflect the uniqueness of the school. It must require sacrifice and emotional investment from all community members.
Second, once a vision statement is developed, an effective leader must be able to articulate this vision – to communicate the vision clearly and assertively, in such a way that motivates the school community and attains buy-in. the administrator, and key leadership members must be able to speak, write, and, most of all, live the vision before any non-leadership members will ever truly buy into the vision.
Third, an effective leader must be able to implement the vision by acquiring, distributing, refining, and maintaining resources needed --- this includes human and non-human resources, as well as time. Some activities and resources may need to be culled from the community to accomplish implementation. This means that a leader must be assertive and discriminating, and willing to risk criticism.
Finally, an effective leader is able to maintain the integrity of the vision – not allowing political or emotional influences to sway or thwart the progress toward the vision. Again, this requires assertiveness and determination. An effective leader must be able to walk the fine line between compromise and cooperation.
A powerful shared vision is necessary for the success of all students and only a strong, effective leader can facilitate such success.
My Vision Statement:
A perfect school is one in which:• All school community members believe that all students can measurably succeed and contribute to society.
• Students engage in learning and self-monitoring.
• Teachers collaborate to facilitate and assess student learning.
• All instructional decisions and resource allotments are based upon proven research and data.
• Leaders model professional ethics and balance.
• All members value and embrace life-long learning.
Reflection on Survey Monkey:
As an administrator, I would be able to use this tool to survey my teachers on upcoming issues as a means to more effectively meet the needs of the staff in meetings or staff development. this would be more a more efficient use of time, and would provide a low-affective envoronment for teachers to share opinions or needs.Reflection on The Courage To Teach:
Parker Palmer asserts that good teaching cannot be reduced to technique, but rather to identity and integrity of the teacher. I am not convinced that these traits can be separated in truly good teaching. I can’t think of any teacher who uses great techniques, but has no integrity or identity, but I can think of teachers who have integrity and identity, but not much technique. First of all, to poll students, or anyone, on who their best teachers were may not be gathering information about teaching quality, but rather about emotional or inspirational qualities. Someone who greatly influences another, doesn’t necessarily teach them as much as inspire them to act or think. Personally, when I think back to which teacher influenced me most, it isn’t the same as the teacher who taught me the most. Quite frankly, I think that someone with integrity and identity could possibly never become a great teacher if they are never taught the most effective teaching strategies; but those teachers without integrity and identity will never become great teachers, because they, by definition, don’t care to.Optimally, as an instructional leader, the best teacher to hire would one that has it all: integrity, identity, and technique; but if pickings are slim, identity and integrity are the necessities, as long as opportunities to attain the techniques are provided. If, however, the instructional leader hires someone without integrity and identity, regardless of a stellar list of qualifications, they have just hired a dud.
As for the issue of mentors, I disagree with the author. I believe we should always have a mentor, no matter how long we have been teaching. It is vital to be a mentor and to be mentored, whether it be for technique, for content, for organization, for counseling, or whatever, there is always a part of us that needs to be further developed, and there is always a part of someone else that we can help to develop. That is really one of the cores of success in effective professional learning communities.
My Bookmarks:http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp?account=186100&t=10%2F5%2F2007+10%3A40%3A35+PM
My Survey:
Reflection on School Culture
The Culture of Teaching and Learning was the third course in the Tier One Preliminary Administrative Credential Program at the Orange County Department of Education. Standard Two, of the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSELs), states: “A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.” Our facilitators, Anita Jameson and Karen Madeiros, were quite thorough in informing us about the vast number of components of school culture, such as values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, school traditions, role models, etc. A school administrator must be familiar with the existing culture of the school, the “who we are”, as well as the areas of needed improvement, the “who we want to be”. The reason this is so important, is the fact that research indicates that culture is the leading indicator of student academic success, and after all, that is why we are here, to help students succeed.
On Day One, we learned about the history of education, and how the major shifts in our society have changed the purpose, the curriculum, and the role of the principal. Since society continues to change, so must we expect schools to continue to change. We learned about the Coleman Report, which introduced us to the “achievement gap”, which unfortunately contributes to a culture low expectations in so many of our schools. I thought of the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy, where educators read about this gap between socio-economic groups, or between racial groups, and then believe that this must be true and lower their expectations of those groups, and perhaps put forth less effort because “oh well, it doesn’t matter….”. Rather, we must reject the idea that certain groups of students can’t succeed, and do what ever it takes to make sure that they do succeed. The fact is, in many schools, this “gap” is nonexistent, due to superior curriculum and teachers within a culture of high expectations. We discussed the need and the process of changing a school’s culture through a continuous improvement planning process put forth by Mike Schmoker. We discussed the results of a study by Carl Glickman with the League of Professional Schools. Glickman produced a list of 5 findings about successful schools. This list is one that I will keep posted in my office, as a reminder of what my school culture needs to model.
On Day Two, we learned about instructional strategies, standards, brain research, and differentiation. We learned about how the principal of a school is the instructional leader and must not only be familiar with effective strategies, but must demand these strategies from classroom teachers. We discussed studies of 90/90/90 schools. We discussed and practiced identifying power standards as a solution to the dilemma of too many standards/too little time. I think that this day was probably the easiest part of the culture segment of our program, because most of us are already teachers and “good teaching” is important to us already ---the challenge is, as administrators, how will we lead our staff into a culture of believing that all students can succeed, and that it is an educator’s job and purpose to seek out the best strategies to ensure that they all do.
On Day Three, we focused on the various forms and uses of data in education, including demographics, finances, and assessment. An administrator needs to know how to interpret data in order to direct change and improvement in instructional practices and to allocate resources to meet the needs of all constituents within the school community. WE spent considerable time defining, differentiating, and evaluating various types of assessments. Assessment data enables accountability in teaching, as well as identifies effective or non-effective components of our instructional program. We discussed the differences between assessment of and assessment for learning. We also discussed the value of developing common assessment within grade levels or departments, in order too more accurately analyze the effectiveness of instructional practices. Of this component, I was most surprised about my interest in finances. I have a really passion about the wastefulness I see in public schools, and it never really occurred to me that I could get into the financial end of education and perhaps make a difference. I am seriously considering this path.
Finally, on Day Four, we addressed the administrator’s role in the professional development of staff. An administrator must not only facilitate on-site professional development activities, but also encourage staff to individually pursue continuous professional growth, to embed it into their work. By facilitating and supporting continuous learning in all of the adults on our campus, we establish a culture of life-long learning, which in turn, assists student learning.
In conclusion, culture encompasses many facets, all intricately interrelated, and all essential to student success. An administrator who is new to a school must me adept to quickly and accurately assess the culture of the school, deciding which components are toxic, and which are positive. Then, with tact and wisdom, along with a great deal of tenacity and communication skill, the toxic components must be transformed. Personally, I believe that this is where my greatest strength and potential lies, as I am able to detect undercurrents, relate to many different personalities, and “infect” people with my hunger for knowledge and passion for excellence. Yet, that is not to say it will be easy, and I must always search for better ways to improve my self, and my school’s culture, never settling for mediocre.
School Site Plan Interview
My interview was with Debra Thompson, principal of Portola Middle School in Orange Unified School District. Portola MS is located on main Street, north of Chapman, in Orange, CA. PMS is 85% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 2% Caucasian, with 40% ELD, and 65% Free or Reduced Lunch.
Ideally, the School Site Plan is supposed to be created by the School Site Council and the Instructional Leadership Team. In reality, Ms. Thompson ends up doing most of it, due to the fact that very few parents attend SSC, and those who do, do not speak or read English, they generally have a low level education, and the entire plan has not been translated into Spanish. In addition, the ILT does not participate much in the formation of the SSP either, as that requires release days, and the ILT has expressed that they prefer to remain in the classroom as much as possible.
Before the SSP, the school vision, mission, and goals must be defined. The goals at Portola are somewhat pre-defined, as it is a Program Improvement School under NCLB. There are three main goals, one for math, one for Language Arts, and one for English Language Development. It is these goals that the SSP is designed to achieve.
The format of the SSP is dictated by the State. Usually the previous plan is simply revised each year, however, last year, a new online form was introduced, which required that the entire plan be written from scratch. Ms. Thompson stated that, during her first year as principal, there was no support offered by the district for creating this document. During her second year, Portola underwent State Review, which exposed this lack of support for the SSP, and now, the district offers training on SSP development.
Input for the SSP comes from staff, via the ILT, from SSC, from classroom observations, evidence of student work, an analysis of the instructional program, and the Academic Program Survey, a survey that rates the school on the 9 Essentials for Successful Schools.
Ms. Thompson begins the SSP in the Spring with general goals, but not much detail, because the CST results are not yet out, the school is in the middle of testing, the school year is beginning to close out, and MS. Is planning the next year already. She completes the rough draft by the end of June, in time for her summer break, then resumes writing in late July/early August, once the CST scores are released.
Once the goals and the action plan are defined in the SSP, available monies are then allocated according to priority. One of the challenges is distributing categorical funds appropriately – categorical funds cannot be used for anything that is covered by general funds. Examples of items that Portola has funded are staff development, the reading intervention program, AVID, a reading specialist, after school homework club, a community liaison, and a technology assistant. The challenge is the fact that all of the money does not come at once. A tentative budget is formed in spring, and an updated budget is released in October, after the CBEDs are released.
REFLECTION
What initially struck me most was the lack of participation by parents and even staff in the development of the SSP. It seems to me that it would be worth the effort to get more of the community involved in order to ensure buy-in. There must be a way to have the SSP fully translated, and then perhaps training for parents to understand the SSP. It is an immense load for one person to tackle this project alone, and then to have limited buy-in due to lack of ownership, would be a major source of frustration to me. If I was the principal, this would have to change…..
What struck me next is when Ms. Thompson showed me the additional paperwork required, in conjunction with the SSP, for Title I and Program Improvement. Much of it is redundant, and it is highly time-consuming.
What Families Want
What Families Want
By Wadsworth and Remaley
The article suggests that we don’t really need to refocus efforts to meeting the changing needs of our demographics, and that instead, we should focus on providing strong academic programs, qualified and motivated teachers, and a respectful and nurturing environment. I believe that, in order to provide these things, we must adapt to the changing needs of our demographics. A strong academic program includes strategies and components that are differentiated according to the needs of our students. For example, if our students come from homes that have not afforded travel or exposure to a variety of experiences, our academic program would need special emphasis on developing background knowledge and academic language. If our students come from homes where there is no safe or quiet place to do homework, we would need to provide opportunities for students to complete work at school, or provide more practice time during class. Qualified and motivated teachers observe their students’ needs and adapt their methods to meet those needs. “Qualified” nowadays means trained in cross cultural awareness and ELD strategies – an obvious adaptation to the changing needs of our demographics. A respectful and nurturing environment is made possible by understanding the need the needs of the demographics. Schools in communities with primarily non-English speaking parents must make special efforts to break down the language barrier and make the parents feel welcome and respected in order to get parents involved with school activities.
Thus, I feel that the authors’ reasoning is invalid. It’s not either/or, it’s both. A strong academic program, qualified and motivated teachers, and a respectful and nurturing environment will focus efforts on meeting the changing needs of the demographics of the school, in order to ensure the success of their students.